Calming Anxiety | Guided Meditation, Sleep Hypnosis & Panic Attack Relief

The White Cat by E. Nesbit — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with this gentle bedtime story, a classic audiobook narrated aloud for insomnia relief and deep relaxation as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's sleep story is The White Cat by E. Nesbit, the much-loved author of The Railway Children and Five Children and It. It's a warm, magical fairy tale about a little boy, a chipped china cat and a family secret hidden for 150 years. It was first published in her 1912 collection The Magic World and is long in the public domain: Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) died more than a century ago.

 

For more calming audiobooks and sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night.

 Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored.

 

In this soothing narrated short story, young Tavvy has had a wonderfully wicked afternoon. Last of all, he knocks a little white china cat off its shelf in the forbidden attic. When his mother lets him keep it for his very own, the china cat begins to speak, and each night she carries him away to her enchanted castle of gold and ivory, with invisible hands serving supper and a bed with a counterpane of butterfly wings.

 

But Tavvy's mother has troubles of her own, and the family may have to leave their beloved old house. What happens next is pure Nesbit: tender, funny and full of quiet magic, with an ending that will leave you smiling.

 

If you can't sleep, lie awake at night with a racing mind, or simply love classic children's literature read aloud, let this calm, unhurried bedtime reading ease anxiety and carry you softly towards rest.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Panic Attack Relief — Ride the Wave Until It Passes | Box Breathing Guided Meditation

 

If your heart is hammering, your hands are tingling and some frightened part of you is certain something terrible is about to happen — start here. This is Panic Attack Relief: a 10-minute guided meditation to help you float through a panic attack instead of fighting it. You are not dying, you are not going mad, you are not losing control. A panic attack is a wave — it rises, it peaks, and every single time, it falls.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, this session uses box breathing (also called square breathing or tactical breathing) — the breath taught to soldiers, divers and emergency responders to keep a clear head while the body is screaming to run. We start with gentle counts of three, ease into fours, then settle into warm golden-light affirmations to remind your nervous system that the adrenaline is already finishing its journey and cannot stay.

 

Whether you're on the bathroom floor right now or building your daily calm, this is anxiety relief for panic attacks, breathwork and nervous-system reset — and a reminder that your record is perfect: you have survived every panic attack you have ever had.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – You are not dying: a panic attack is a wave

* 00:55 – Welcome (your host Martin, clinical hypnotherapist & former paramedic)

* 01:24 – Anchored: the always-there Instant Calm button

* 01:57 – Box breathing — threes, then fours (in through the nose, out through the mouth)

* 04:44 – The tide goes out: adrenaline has a shelf life

* 05:21 – Warm golden light & panic-attack affirmations

* 08:35 – Your three daily caring tips

* 09:28 – Gently coming back into the room

* 10:08 – Outro, share & be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Say these with me, in your mind or out loud — they are yours:

 

* I am having a panic attack, and a panic attack cannot hurt me.

* This will pass. It always passes.

* I do not have to fight this feeling. I can let it move through me.

* The tight band around my ribs begins to melt.

* My heart is strong. My heart is doing its job. My heart is safe.

* I have survived every panic attack I have ever had. My record is perfect.

* I am safe in my body, and I am safe in this moment.

* I am anchored.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. Name it. The moment you feel panic beginning, say out loud, "this is adrenaline and it peaks in 10 minutes." Naming stops your brain adding a second fear on top of the first.

 

2. Cool the reflex. Put something cold on the back of your neck, or hold your wrists under a cold tap — the drop in skin temperature triggers your body's own calming reflex within seconds.

 

3. Refuel after. Once the wave passes, drink a full glass of water and eat something small — panic burns real fuel, and your body needs telling that the emergency is over.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If you'd like this session waiting for you next time, come and find it within Anchored — make it a favourite, download it forever, no searching and no scrolling. On the very first page there's a button called Instant Calm: nine minutes of guided talking, baked into the code, no signal needed and no premium upgrade. Tap it as often as you need, and I'm there with you.

 

To take Calming Anxiety with you anywhere, download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. 👉 Download Anchored on the App Store Today: https://apps.apple.com

 

And if today helped you, please share this episode with someone you love, and leave a 30-second rating or review on Apple Podcasts — somebody out there is sitting on a bathroom floor right now, believing they're the only one. You could be the person who tells them they're not.

 

…be kind.

 

 

👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!

 

Support the Show:

 

Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support

 

Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety

 

Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Silence — A Fable by Edgar Allan Poe — A Classic Gothic Bedtime Story, Narrated Audiobook | Books at Bedtime

 

A classic audiobook narrated aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's bedtime story is Silence — A Fable by Edgar Allan Poe, a strange, dreamlike prose poem and one of his least known and most hypnotic works, perfect for the long October nights leading up to Halloween. It was first published in 1838 under the title "Siope — A Fable" and is long in the public domain: Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) died more than 175 years ago.

 

For more calming audiobooks and gentler sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night.

Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored.

 

"Listen to me," said the Demon, as he placed his hand upon my head.

 

In this narrated fable, a demon describes a dreary land beside the river Zaire, where the waters never rest, pale water lilies sigh one unto the other, and the tall primeval trees rock forever though there is no wind. Beneath a crimson moon, a solitary man sits upon a great grey rock, and the demon sets out to unsettle him with storm, thunder and tumult. Nothing moves him, until the demon tries something far stranger.

 

With its rolling, repeating rhythms and rich, incantatory language, this is Poe at his most musical. It's a haunting meditation on solitude, stillness and the power of silence itself, and an unusual choice for anyone who loves classic literature read aloud and a little gothic atmosphere before sleep.

 

Please note: this is an eerie gothic piece, a little darker in mood than our usual gentle sleep stories. If you're feeling anxious or fragile tonight, you may prefer one of our calmer Books at Bedtime readings.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

I Can Change — New Month New Way of Thinking (Physiological Sigh)

 

A new month can feel like something between a fresh page and a quiet accusation. Part of you is already looking back — at what you meant to do, at what you promised yourself and didn't quite manage. This 10-minute guided meditation offers something kinder: a month is not a report card, and you don't need the first of September to begin again.

 

Martin guides you through setting down the heavy backpack of everything unfinished from last month, then into the physiological sigh — two breaths in through the nose, one long breath out through the mouth. It's the fastest reset your nervous system has, and it makes the point of the whole episode better than any words can: you were already different ninety seconds later. Four guided rounds, followed by a warm golden-light body scan and affirmations for self-compassion, fresh starts and letting go.

 

This is anxiety relief for anyone who feels behind, who is being hard on themselves about how the year is going, or who has quietly given up on something good because they "ruined it" by missing a few days. Every day is a brand new reset — every hour, every breath. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – Cold open: a month is not a report card

* 01:08 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety with Martin

* 01:24 – Settling: finding your quiet place

* 01:56 – The heavy backpack: setting last month down

* 02:50 – The physiological sigh: the science

* 03:21 – Four guided rounds

* 05:25 – Warm golden light body scan

* 06:20 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 08:15 – Your three daily caring tips

* 09:15 – Coming gently back into the room

* 09:48 – Closing thoughts and sign-off

 

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Repeat these softly in your thoughts:

 

• I am safe. I am here. There is nothing to fear right now.

 

• This is a new month, and I am allowed a new way of thinking.

 

• I do not carry last month into this one.

 

• August passed across me. September will pass across me, and I will still be here.

 

• Every day is a brand new reset, and I am allowed to begin again as often as I need.

 

• I have not fallen behind. There is no schedule I am failing.

 

• I am not starting over. I am starting from experience.

 

• I am calm. I am capable. I am enough for this month.

 

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. One Word, Not A Resolution — Write down one single thing you would like more of this month; not a resolution, not a target, just one word, and put it somewhere you will see it each morning.

 

2. The Day Is Not Scored — When you catch yourself saying "I have already ruined it today", take one physiological sigh and carry on anyway, because the day is not scored.

 

3. Say The Good Thing Out Loud — Choose one small thing you did well in August and say it out loud to yourself, because you will list your failures without any prompting at all.

 

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

If today helped, download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. No streaks, no guilt — just somewhere to come back to.

 

👉 Download Anchored on the App Store Today: https://apps.apple.com

 

And if you would do one thing just for me this month, please share this episode with someone who is being hard on themselves about how their year is going. It takes 10 seconds, and it might change how they start their September. A 30-second rating and review on Apple Podcasts helps more than you'd think.

 

Go gently. Be kind to yourself, and be kind to other people.

 

 

👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!

 

Support the Show:

 

Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support

 

Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety

 

Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe — A Classic Gothic Bedtime Story, Narrated Audiobook | Books at Bedtime

 

A classic audiobook narrated aloud as part of Calming Anxiety's Books at Bedtime series. Tonight's bedtime story is The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe, one of his shortest and most haunting tales, and a beautifully atmospheric read-aloud as the nights draw in towards Halloween. It was first published in 1842 under the title "Life in Death" and is long in the public domain: Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) died more than 175 years ago.

 

For more calming audiobooks and gentler sleep stories whenever you need them, download Anchored, the free companion app to Calming Anxiety, with offline-ready relaxation and Books at Bedtime sessions for any hour of the night.

 Get it on the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored.

 

In this narrated short story, a wounded traveller shelters for the night in an abandoned château high in the Apennines. Unable to sleep, he lies in a candlelit turret room hung with tapestries and paintings, reading a small book that describes them. When he moves the candelabrum at midnight, its light falls on a portrait he hadn't noticed before: a young woman in an oval gilded frame, painted with a life-likeness so startling it holds him spellbound. Then he reads her story.

 

This is quiet, dreamlike gothic fiction about art, obsession and love, told in Poe's rich, hypnotic prose. It's a perfect choice if you love classic literature read aloud and a gently haunting tale by candlelight before sleep.

 

Please note: this is a gothic story with a sad and eerie ending, a little darker than our usual gentle sleep stories. If you're feeling anxious or fragile tonight, you may prefer one of our calmer Books at Bedtime readings.

 

Hosted and narrated by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, as part of Calming Anxiety's Coffee Break for the Soul and Books at Bedtime story readings.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Support the Show:

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.